Life-changing moments rarely announce themselves.For Deborah Robinson, PhD ’87, one such moment occurred in 1982 during a party in Detroit. The event was sponsored by the African Friendship Society and it was the first time Robinson had met anyone from South Africa. She tried to engage one young man in conversation, making small talk about what a great time she was having. When he didn’t share her enthusiasm, she chided him, asking why he was so untrusting and negative.“I have a reason to be untrusting,” Robinson recalls him saying. “I have seen 17 of my friends hanged in South Africa.”That remark took her breath away: “It was a very powerful moment.”

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